deernet | Video | un: canary

[ She's missed that. Smiling softly, she lingers in close, enjoying the warm familiarity of it all. Here they are again, stuck in another insane horrorscape, God knows what awaits them. But they're here. Together.

She sighs into that kiss, eyes fluttering closed a moment, her fingertips reaching out to brush lightly into his hair. A simple, instinctive motion, easy and intimate, like they're transported suddenly back into that tiny apartment on the first floor. ]

Missed you, too. [ She nudges the tip of his nose with hers. ] You see anyone else we know here? Wanda pulled me out of the ocean a few days ago.

[ he's missed these moments. played them over and over in his mind on repeat, watching and feeling his surroundings disintegrating, crumbling into that nothingness himself, replaying those few memories that plague him - the horror, the rejection of his boys, the sensation of drowning, andy and the rest of them leaving him on that beach; and this, a soothing balm on all those miserable moments.

Booker's not an idealist, he knows they're not perfect, and it's impossible they'll last... but it was nice, to be able to linger in that, in what he thought was the end.

he smiles against her mouth, tipping his head down so he can kiss her jaw, and press his face into her neck and breathe her in.

shakes his head and pulls up, tucking her close under his arm and glancing around. like he'll suddenly see John or Mick or Wrench wandering around. ] Wanda - Willow, did you meet her?

One of the Legends, you wouldn't have met her yet. Zari? She said she was the second one...? [ a reminder that it's not just this place that's weird. ]

[ they've never really talked about it. what this means to them. how much it means. so content to ride it out, knowing full well it would come to an end eventually. and for a brief moment, it did. for a few short months, she'd been sure that was the end.

whatever it means, that they're back here together, she won't be dumb enough to question it. in their own fashion, she's sure they'll just leave it be. accept the good where it comes, and deal with the bad when it inevitably rains down.

she massages the nape of his neck with a hand when he tucks down into her, pressing a kiss to his cheek before he straightens. ]

Willow, yeah. Met her on the network a little while ago. Zari, too. She mentioned John was here.

[ it's just easier, to not talk about it.

until it's not anymore.

but there should be time enough for that, and he maps each touch now into his memory, preparing for the inevitable. ]

John- that's good. Or, bad. [ he frowns, annoyed at the inherit contradiction. ] Where have you been holed up?

[ one of these days, they'll get to it. the real stuff. places like these, they tend to find a way to force those things out of you.

she chuckles a little. ] With John, that tends to be the sentiment. [ She smirks, toying her fingers through her hair again. ]

Been bouncing around a bit. Nowhere permanent. You find a place?

[ quite literally force it out of them, in all likelihood.

god, he craves the way he feels when she touches him. the way she feels. the way they make each other feel. ]

Here and there. Eyeing a place on the edge of Crenshaw. [ no, he's certainly not implying anything. ] Little bit bigger than the place before. [ lots of room for knives and guns.

he leans down again, drawn by her touch, brushing his nose at her neck and placing a kiss along the skin there. ] I could show you.

[ she's missed this. the safe haven that seems to build around themselves when they're together. despite the danger that loomed in deerington and, if they're honest, probably looms just as horribly here.

optimism, and all. ]

Crenshaw, huh? You get yourself a job yet? [ she massages her fingertips against his scalp, leaning her head into his. ] Sure. You wanna drive?

[ he shakes his head in response to her question, breathing her in - fallen into old habits, sure, helping out here and there, but he's never been a 'job' type. ]

Yeah. [ but he doesn't want to pull away- he'll probably be able to stamp this desperation out once this all becomes more familiar again, but right now... ] I can drive. [ he knows where it is, that makes sense.

that she'll be holding him on the bike helps him pull away, placing a kiss against her cheek before taking her hand. ] Your bike made it?

Edited 2021-09-13 03:59 (UTC)

[ even back in deerington, he'd just kind of scraped together a few odd jobs here and there. she's not sure a place like this actually has a bar to bartend, but she hasn't actually wandered through the bulk of it quite yet.

tugging her keys out of her pocket, she hands them over to him and leans in to his kiss with a smile. ]

Yeah, and all in one piece, somehow. Crate of weapons and ammo, too. You?

Pretty much this. [ he elbows the duffel across his shoulder, ] Two guns - a sword that doesn't fit in here.

[ it's a nice bike, and he's glad it's up and running here - he's still exploring this place, and he doesn't have an eye on any sort of tools or parts for it yet. he straddles it, waiting for her to get on before starting it. ]

Got a bottle of whiskey hiding out in the place though.

That's it? Actually, the sword is kind of fun.

[ She follows him, swinging a leg over and fitting into the seat behind him. She loops her arms around his middle, craning her neck to press a kiss to the spot behind his ear. ]

My hero.

[ he smiles at that; he could never be a hero, but when sara says it, part of him believes her. the noise of the bike and the wind as he navigates the streets puts their conversation on hold, but he can feel her behind him, holding on, steady and present.

when he pulls up he tucks the bike into an alcove near the flat, half a townhouse with a door that he'd hastily repaired when he noticed the stain-glass window pane adjacent to the main entrance and started thinking about claiming it. the glass is dirty and cracked, but somehow it reminds him of... home.

he takes her hand, when she gets off the bike, ] How long were you home?

[ a year ago, she'd never had thought she had it in her to become a leader of a team of time travelers. saving the timeline, protecting history. it sounds like some kind of insane acid trip, but apparently in some timeline, it's her life. and she's happy. so whatever the future brings, if they're stuck in some new nightmare, at least they're here together.

she climbs off the bike and scans the building curiously, glancing back at him and squeezing his hand with a smile. ]

Few months. You stayed?

Yeah. I stayed.

[ as everything started disintegrating, crumbling and fading away... and he'd even found himself hoping that he might be the next to follow- though when has anything like that ever worked out for him?

still, it's easy to remember the things that brought him comfort during that time, when he's so close to such a significant part of it. ] How was everyone?

[ he takes her up the few steps, removes a hidden screw that keeps the door closed, since he hasn't gotten a lock yet. ]

[ she'd been so torn between deciding to stay and go. so afraid for her family, afraid to leave her friends here. afraid to leave him. part of her thought that maybe, with her leaving, he'd head back to his own world, too. find that family he'd been so estranged from.

she follows him up the steps, shrugging. ] They're... good. Laurel joined the team, actually. Dad's a Captain now. They're doing fine.

[ She smiles a little at the memory. ] Guess I was worried for nothing.

[ the drive to stay away was still stronger than the urge for familiarity - add the potential of the unknown, the possibility of an end within that unknown... his thoughts on his family haven't changed; they're better off without him, and he'll settle for a stain glass window that reminds him of a 16th century church in spain. ]

Your sister fights too, now? [ what a family - he hopes they can find her soon.

he opens the door with his shoulder, steps through and draws her in behind him, resetting the door and adding a different screw to keep it closed. ] How long had it been for them? [ fine is good - fine is better than regret and desperation for a way back there, from here. ]

[ his relationship with his family is more complicated than she could ever imagine. she can't presume to know what the best move is for him, but at the very least, he's made it here in one piece. ]

Yeah, she's pretty good actually. Calling herself the Black Canary.

[ she shakes her head, chuckling at the idea and following him inside. she stays in close, slipping her hand into his and scanning the entry way curiously. ]

Almost a year? It was weird... like... like it was okay. That I was gone. Like I knew they'd be okay, you know?

[ honestly, it's too complicated for him to be able to muddle through it effectively, but that's probably part of the reason he's here, isn't it? ]

She's proud of you. [ he says it softly, with a small smile- it's far more touching to Booker than it probably ought to be, but it speaks to the impact sara's had, that she was loved and unforgotten. a lot to assume from a name, sure, but you didn't pick up a mantle like that for nothing.

the hallway leads to a kitchen along the back, the living room to the left, stairs to the right. weather-worn but clean, in better shape than the old apartment had been. there's a couch and an arm chair, here. he drops his bag on the floor, his attention back on her, a hand against her face.

a year - he can't quite remember, if that's a long time or not in a normal world. he's willing to bet it's both, though. ] What's the last thing you remember, from there?

[ It's an odd thought, that Laurel could be proud of her. That anyone could, but Laurel especially. Laurel, who she'd hurt so badly. Betrayed. They'd been through so much, the two of them. She still can't believe she's lucky enough to have managed to patch things up.

The place is impressive. Hell of a lot more room than the little apartment in Deerington. Turning to face him, she steps in and slips her arms around his waist, head canting up to meet his gaze. ]

From Deerington? You. Saying goodbye to you.

[ he knows she'd been worried - eyes glimmering with tears as they stood in front of her apartment window, telling him about her life as he told her about his. trading secrets, sharing. memories. regrets and hopes too, maybe.

it is a nice place, for his considerably low bar. the bed here even had sheets. his arms fall around her, chin tucking to look down at her. ]

I'm glad you went back. [ and that she wasn't around for the aftermath that followed their goodbye. ] Even if it was just for a while, and you ended up back here.

What's the last thing you remember from home?

[ there weren't many people in this world that knew her as well as he did. knew this version of her, the one not yet a leader, not yet a time traveler. they've traded pieces of themselves with each other, even if the words never came that freely.

she reaches up to brush her fingertips through his hair, offering him a small smile. ]

If I had to come back, I'm glad it was to you. [ she skims her thumb over his cheekbone, thinking on his question. ]

It was weird. Like I was brought back to the same moment I'd been taken to Deerington, but I'd been away from home for almost a year then. They dropped me back in Star City. Like... they knew that's where I needed to end up. [ she shakes her head of the thought. ] Last thing I remember... I found this antler in my bed. That night, after I fell asleep, I woke up here. [ she glances up at him. ] How'd you end up here?

Me too. [ the thought of her at home was comforting, surrounded by friends and family, people she cared about; the thought of her ending up somewhere else, alone? not so much.

he leans against her hand, but he doesn't imagine he'll ever understand how this place works - or how the last one had either. some sort of higher power, plucking and depositing people with impunity... it sounds reasonable but the idea that something is imposing its will on them will never sit well.

Booker nods as he listens, though he doesn't have much to say to that. like magic - and the real kind, not the gimmicky kind. ]

Deerington, it was... crumbling. And I could feel myself crumbling with it, disappearing bit by bit. It felt like it might actually stick, for once...

[ but of course he hadn't been that lucky. ]

[ She'd learned a long time ago not to question the why. Why Deerington, why this place, why the League, why the island. Her whole life seems like some ugly, grand scheme, an all-knowing hand picking up and dropping her into a new nightmare at its leisure.

At the least, he's here. The others, too, scattered around this place. They'll have each other, and they'll weather through the nightmares like they did before. Together.

She studies his feature quietly, thumb running over the curves of his face - his jawline, his cheekbone, his brow bone. When she speaks again, her voice is tighter, heavier with guilt. ]

I thought... I thought maybe if I left for home, you'd go, too. See them again. If I'd known you were really staying... [ She shakes her head, swallowing. ] I should've been here with you.

[ it's a together Booker's not used to being a part of, one that he still finds vaguely inexplicable. adopted into a group of people who seem bonded together despite what he has gathered are innumerable disasters.

but the together with her is more precious of any of them, and as much as he cherishes it, Sara's well being is a higher priority for him than her being with him.

he hates that sadness in her eyes, the edge of regret. the well of emotion and affection, and the intensity of it scares him so he defaults to his age-old fallback, leaning in to kiss her, hoping that will succeed where words fail him. ]

Don't do that cara, [ he mutters it against her lips, his fingers on his cheeks, palms cupping her jaw. ] It was no use to stay. You were right where you were supposed to be.

[ Together hadn't exactly been a staple of her vocabulary when she'd arrived in Deerington. If anything, she'd been thrown into the group - The Legends - as randomly as she'd been dropped into the town itself. An odd, found family that she never even remembered building. Friends who knew, loved, trusted a version of herself she was never quite certain she'd become.

There's something so comforting about that kiss, the way they sink into it, pouring the loss of the last few months, the distance, the emotion of it into each other. She tiptoes to push herself in closer, pressing her forehead to his. ]

Really missed you.

Video | un: canary

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